Dr. Carolyn Jack
Academic title(s):
Assistant Professor - Department of Medicine
Link(s):
Current research:
Dr. Jack’s research program focuses on adult atopic dermatitis (AD), the most common and the most burdensome skin disorder worldwide. Her goal is to identify disease-modifying interventions to prevent the multi-system, chronic inflammatory responses that characterize the lives of patients with AD, which include associated asthma and allergies. IL-13 is one of three genes most associated with AD; this type 2 immune axis cytokine is key to pathobiology in skin. Mechanisms of modulation of human cellular IL-13 responses are a focus of Dr. Jack’s laboratory.
Projects:
- Advanced human immunophenotyping of type 2 immune responses: in vitro model generating pathogenic type 2 IL-13+ human T cells; testing functional modulation of IL-13 expression. Ex vivo and in situ multiparametric phenotypic and functional T cell analyses using flow cytometry, confocal microscopy, and patient biospecimen cultures.
- Canadian Atopic Dermatitis Cohort Translational Immunology and Imaging (CACTI): Dr. Jack leads the fundamental immunology aims of this national, multi-university prospective observational clinical study of adult patients with AD who fail first line therapy. The study, investigating cellular and molecular determinants of induced disease remission is funded by a CDF Team Grant for Th2 Inflammatory skin diseases. This collaboration with national co-PIs (McGill, UBC, U of T) is a first of its kind in Canada.
- Investigating the role for Staphylococcus aureus species and specific strains in disease over time, with support from the MI4 Microbiome Research Platform (K. Dewar, B. Cousineau), as well as traditional microbiology.
Selected publications:
Research areas:
Drug discovery/ Therapeutics
Fundamental Research
Immunology